Copyright (c) 2018 Baptist Press. Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The original story can be found at http://www.bpnews.net/50018/week-of-prayer-gospel-vision-anchors-mexico-city-team

WEEK OF PRAYER: Gospel vision anchors Mexico City team

Men play chess in the historic district of Mexico City. IMB missionaries serving in the city are investing their lives to reach the more than 20 million people who live there, as well as the business people who come and go every day from other parts of the world. IMB Photo

IMB Photo

IMB missionaries Rick Martinez, Carlos Llambes and Will Wright meet church leaders in a small church near Mexico City Airport to talk through a plan for how IMB can offer practical support and encouragement to these local partners, with a view to reaching various people groups within the city. IMB Photo

IMB Photo

Men sit and chat in the historic district of Coyoacan in Mexico City. The city of more than 20 million draws a steady stream of internationals coming for business and tourism, and the IMB team serving there sees that as an opportunity to reach the world for Christ. IMB Photo

IMB Photo

IMB missionary Lily Llambes teaches an adult education class at a church in Mexico City. She and her husband, Carlos, spend many of their Sundays partnering with local churches, such as this one in the Barros Sierra neighborhood. IMB Photo

IMB Photo

IMB missionary Carlos Llambes teaches an adult education class at a church in Mexico City. He and his wife, Lily, spend many of their Sundays partnering with local churches, such as this one in the Barros Sierra neighborhood. IMB Photo

IMB Photo

Men study the Bible during an adult education class led by IMB missionary Carlos Llambes. He and his wife, Lily, spend many of their Sundays partnering with local churches in Mexico City, such as this one in the Barros Sierra neighborhood. IMB Photo

IMB Photo

EDITOR'S NOTE: This year's Week of Prayer for International Missions in the Southern Baptist Convention is Dec. 3-10 with the theme verse taken from 2 Corinthians 5:14 (HCSB) "For Christ's love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If one died for all, then all died." The verse undergirds the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. The offering, in tandem with Cooperative Program gifts from Southern Baptist churches, supports international workers in seeking to fulfill the Great Commission. Gifts to the Lottie Moon offering are received through local Southern Baptist churches or online at IMB.org/lmco, where there are resources to promote the offering. This year's goal is $160 million.

MEXICO CITY (BP) -- From Todd Beel's house in Mexico City, he can spot planes coming in every five minutes or so. "Each time, that's another couple hundred people coming in from Europe, multiple cities across Europe, cities across South America, many cities in the United States and Canada," he points out.

Each time one lands, the city of more than 28 million opens its arms to a little more diversity, and each time, for Todd's team of 12 International Mission Board missionaries, the task gets a little bigger. But that's exactly why they're compelled to be there.

"Those are people coming and going all day long for business, work, sports and study," said Todd, who serves as team leader. "It's kind of like, 'Who has the Lord brought to this city today who needs to be reached with the Gospel?' Many of them are coming from unreached people groups around the world."

And as those planes leave again, they could be taking the Gospel back with them, he noted. That's the hope of the team, a dozen people from a diverse collection of backgrounds and skill sets all working together to equip new believers to take the Gospel to unreached pockets of Mexico City and the world. Some are single, some are married, and some have children. They hail from places such as Colombia, Cuba, Korea and Tennessee. And they have one vision -- to see the world worship Jesus and for it to start right where they are.

Will Wright, a young 20-something who recently joined the team, said it's a big vision, but at the micro level, he can already see God at work.

Wright has been working to build a strategy to reach the city's universities. And in getting to know the students, a recent conversation turned into a four-hour discussion about the Gospel. The next thing he knew, a young man named Daniel chose Christ over all the other things that had seemed good in his life before.

"Within a very short amount of time, there's drastic changes in his life," Will said. "He's wanting to live for the Lord. I see him broken over the sins of other people. I see him with a passion that other people come to know the Lord."

And Will, Todd and others are praising God for that kind of transformation and hoping to fan the flame of that passion into a fire that reaches the whole world for Christ.

"I'm just excited to think about the potential in what may be happening in the years to come, not only within but also without, as the people of the city, those that will come to know the Lord or already do, are mobilized to make a difference," Todd said.

How you can pray

Pray for churches to be planted in the unreached neighborhoods of Mexico City.

Pray for God to call out among His people in Mexico those whom He would like to go into the most unreached pockets of the city, of the country, and out into the nations.

IMB staff released this story. BP reports on missions, ministry and witness advanced through the Cooperative Program and on news related to Southern Baptists' concerns nationally and globally.

Formed in 1946 by the Southern Baptist Convention, and supported with Cooperative Program funds, Baptist Press (BP) is a daily (M-F) international news wire service. Operating from a central bureau in Nashville, Tenn., BP works with four partnering bureaus (Richmond, Va.; Atlanta, Ga.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Washington, D.C.), as well as with a large network of contributing writers, photographers and editorial providers, to produce BP News.